Chloe director Atom Egoyan talks about actress Amanda Seyfried in an interview to promote his new movie.
Based on French director Anne Fontaine’s 2003 movie Nathalie, with Gerard Depardieu and Fanny Ardant, Chloe features A-listers Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried as a hit-and-run sexual trio.
Convinced that her husband (Neeson) is having an affair with one of his many admiring female students, Catherine (Moore) decides to hire a young woman named Chloe (Seyfriend) to seduce him and report back with all the boudoir data.
The ruse is a success, but there are unexpected consequences when Catherine and Chloe discover they have their own chemistry, which may prove even more powerful than a wife’s feelings of spousal entitlement and control.
Egoyan says he was grateful to get two heavyweights such as Neeson and Moore in the leads, but Amanda Seyfried as Chloe was the real revelation.
“I’m so happy Amanda is such an amazing actor and she moves outside the genre idea of that character. Her attraction to Catherine is so visceral and detailed and that’s one place where a sense of danger comes from,” says the master of subtextual stressors.
Recently acquired by Sony Pictures Worldwide, Chloe may well see a release in the UK.
Universal's decision for a pricey press junket in Bora Bora to promote the release of Kristen Bell's new comedy Couples Retreat really paid off. The film went straight to number one at the box office taking a staggering $35.3 million in its opening weekend.
One source close to the film said the studio spent twice as much as it normally does on the "Couples Retreat" junket. The extra money was taken from spending that typically would have gone to other advertising and publicity.
The source felt confident that the investment was worth it, noting that the "Couples Retreat" junket generated around 10 times as much media coverage as such events typically do.
Kristen Bell is normal. She fears what most of us fear - being out of work and not being able to keep a roof over our head. In an interview with Parade.com, the actress wears her heart on her sleeve:
"After every job, I have 'I'm never going to work again' syndrome. It's just a fact of loving what you're doing and always wanting more. The one thing I learned from my father is how to be extremely proactive. So when a series gets canceled or a movie wraps, I get on the phone. I'm not an idiot. I've got a mortgage to pay. It's just a matter of making smart decisions, as an actress and a businesswoman. There are a thousand girls out there that have great acting chops and are pretty and personable and I could easily fall out of the loop. Someone else could take my place. I want to ride this wave while I have it."
Animate me, please. "I think like any other girl who grew up in the '80s and early '90s: I always dreamed about being a Disney princess. That was my fantasy. I really liked The Little Mermaid. I also really liked Aladdin. I think that, for my generation, the kids that are my age now, we memorized all those songs. In my off hours I still do them in the shower. So it was really fun to be a part of an animated story which is based on a hugely popular Japanese TV series."
Connecting with her animated character, but not that woman in Couples Retreat. "I can relate to her a lot. She's kind of tough and sassy and opinionated, but she has a very soft interior. I didn't feel the same way about Cynthia in Couples Retreat, who's a real type-A. Although it's funny because the more often I get asked about her, the more I realize there's a tiny Cynthia that lives inside of me who's very specific about packing or about cooking. Sometimes I think, 'Oh, is she really in there?' But, the truth is, I don't know how super-organized people do it. I constantly feel like my world is about to crumble. I feel like I'm holding it together with string."
The message behind the animation. "I think there are a lot of themes in this movie that resonate today. The prejudice toward robots sort of mirrors divisions between different races and different classes. Then, there's the environmental message -- the toll pollution is taking. In the movie, the human race has destroyed the surface of the earth and they all have to live above it in this floating city. But even though the messages are there, they're not shoved down your throat."
Is the Bora Bora Chamber of Commerce listening? "It was the biggest perk to film Couples Retreat in Bora Bora. I grew up in Detroit. I honestly could not find Bora Bora on a map before we went. I've never dreamed that I would be able to see a place like this. Getting off the boat, the beauty was almost paralyzing, it's incomparable to anything I've ever seen. The water is bright blue, yet also crystal clear 50 feet down. I didn't know places like that actually existed. I thought they were only billboards by the airport that someone had Photoshopped on their computer."
Trading punches with the cutest actress in the biz. "I got to get in a fistfight with Meg [Ryan] in Serious Moonlight. And she was so game. I was just like, "Oh, my gosh. I am having a fistfight with Meg Ryan right now. I'm just on cloud nine.' She projects an iconic level of cuteness that I don't even think will ever be matched. She's chosen to take a few years off or whatever, so I forgot how utterly addicting and adorable her mannerisms are. It's like nothing I've ever seen. I'm thinking, 'Oh, remember when I first watched Joe Versus the Volcano. I found it hard to concentrate because she's so cute. You know what I mean?"
Kristen Bell is on UK soil! We Ukers may not give her back. Ever. We want to keep her for ourselves. She will be on ITV daytime show This Morning tomorrow (Thursday 15th October). We can't wait!
We're no strangers to Kristen Bell voicing animation and although we've been dying for Bell "appearance" in Family Guy, we'll make do with its spin-off The Cleveland Show. Check out this video of Kristen: